Every word of Michael Beale's Rangers press conference

Lots of disappointment because we underperformed on the day. That's everybody, starting with the staff and then the players. I thought we didn't perform well. We had moments in the game as well where we could have done better and we didn't. So, there's a huge disappointment that won't go anywhere quickly, but we have to move forward. We went into the game in, in good form. We'd made steady progress in the three months since I came back into the club. That defeat, as disappointing and as horrible as it feels, can't weaken us. It can only strengthen us moving forward. Obviously, I came back in at a stage where the club was looking to do some changes moving forward. The next time we can make or confirm our decisions in the summer, we're heading towards that. It's important now that we go back on another run, that was the first defeat for the team in 17 games, so we're not a bad team overnight. We just played poorly in a very, very important game for the club. And it hurts. I was back in here Monday morning, watching it back, and it didn't feel great to watch it back. But that gives you feedback to move forward and we need that. We need that in the two games against Celtic, we've not been ourselves for large parts of the games and that's something I come back into the club to obviously improve on so. The work continues.

What can you say to the Rangers fans that will give them confidence that the next time you play Celtic, you will be more like yourself?

Well, listen, we have to make sure that we play in the way of the game plan and we didn't do that at the weekend. So, there were reasons for it. We'll keep them in-house and we need to show a stronger face. I think we're capable of more than what we did at the weekend. Then I think that it's clear there are good teams, so the resistance was higher against what we wanted to do. I thought they played well at times. We still had moments in the game in and around the box where I expect more, but just in our general play in open play with the football, I thought we lacked quality and composure. I thought they played with more clarity in their way. Maybe you'd say, well, if you're 90 days into a job and you got the job on the back of bad form, there's a reason why that is because they've got more continuity. There's no consolation in that today, so we have to move forward. We have to improve quickly. We know there are key decisions to be made in this club. I've made those decisions. I've explained where I see those are, but when we'll communicate and action them is in the summer. Until now and then there's 12 league games, there's a cup quarter-final, we still need to improve every single time we play because this is not a normal football club. One defeat in 17 and you know there's a lot of noise. We have to move forward quickly.

What impact has Sunday had on your thoughts and who will be here next season?

Listen, everything plays its part in it. But in general, I've been very clear on the decisions that need to be made. There's a difference between being ruthless and being reckless or being clear and decisive in your decision-making. We have had a number of games to play since I came into the club, I think the team has made steady progress, not outstanding, but steady progress. It's got good results and we need to move forward. It's clear that the football that we're playing at the moment and the way I would like us to play are probably not aligned right now. So, we have to keep moving forward. I think the summer window is very, very important for the football club. I also think that we've just come off a run of very, very good form and the team that we're competing against at the top of the league is showing the same form. We can't move away from that. They're doing fantastically well, in the one-off game at the weekend we fell short. That starts with myself. I feel that the team can perform better than that, but they didn't on the day, so no excuses. Celtic were the better team and they deserved to win that cup final.

In terms of numbers, what do you expect and what should you need for next season to get to the level of Celtic?

I think we need to recruit three or four that are going to make a massive impact on the team. We need to sort out the futures obviously of the ones that are there. And it may be that I feel that we need to change one or two that are in contract as well. So, there's no exact number on it. I need to make a strong team. At the moment we have a recipe to a certain level. But in that game, we fell short at the weekend. After it, there are a lot of emotions. You take two or three days to assess it. It's your job to assess it. It's not your job to be a fan, and it's your job to sit back and assess the players and who's got the appetite and the quality to take us where we want to go. I'll keep that in-house, but I'm very clear on that. I've been clear on it for a while, but I'm definitely clear on the direction we need to go. 

Did you learn anything new at all from the weekend?

I did.

Obviously, you've been in since December and you have only lost one game. Do you feel that it’s harsh to judge you based on that one game?

I think it's fair to judge. It's very rare in football that you will lose one in so many, and obviously, there'll be a lot of such huge opinions divided. I would say we have to keep moving forward. There was a reason why I came in. That was the 90th day that I was in the job on Sunday. I think we've made steady progress. It's clear we need to jump again and at the same time, we can need to continue to win football matches. I think the story of our season has been one of disappointment. There are still 12 games to go and the Scottish Cup to try to retain, my focus is on that. When the window reopens, there's going to be change. I think everybody knew that when I came into the club. I think all the fans agree with that as well, but at this moment in time, we're in the middle of the campaign, not at the end of it.

How important is it that you push Celtic all the way and go as far as you can in the Scottish Cup as well?

And the key to that is Rangers versus Rangers. We can only take care of ourselves. We've been in excellent form. We haven't been able to shorten the gap because we've been in excellent form, but so have Celtic, they've been excellent form. All we can take care of is Rangers and improve. It will be daft of us after one defeat to throw everything out. Everything we've been doing to say everything's not been good enough. We've made progress, we're moving forward. The players look more united and we've played with more style. We just didn't perform on Sunday. That's where I see it. And behind the scenes, we're working as hard as ever. If we'd won the job was still the same, we still need to improve. We're still behind in the league. We still want to do better in European competition next year and we still want to improve the squad and re-energise it. All those things were in place whether we won or lost. We lost the game at the weekend because we weren't our best version.

Michael, is it a case that looking at a game like weekend, it's not reactive to make decisions on that, but as you know, success or failure as a Rangers player is made on games like that?

Yeah, the game is harsh, isn't it? The game is harsh on players and people easily forget good performances from players when they have a bad one in one game, I get it. It's the same for the stuff that gets aimed at coaches you when you win, it's the right team. When you lose, you picked the wrong team. You know the reality is not one player in a Rangers jersey at the weekend did themselves justice and me as the coach, I'm the person that picks the team so it's on me. We have to improve in that fixture and we have to keep winning all the others. I came into the club 90 days ago on Sunday. I got the job because the season wasn't going the way it would want to go. 

Do you think that there's still some scarring from before you arrived in this squad?

I think we've had a squad that's had a lot of continuity for a long time and that gave the club relative success. And now that that squad's evolving and moving. And that process we're in the middle of it, you want to do it quickly and in the January window we added and in the summer obviously, naturally that's a point where we're at a point of change because some players are out of contract and we want to bring some new players in. So, you're going to see a new Ranges over time. Patience and Glasgow don’t always go hand in hand. We know that we've got two more derbies to play between now and the end of the season. I'm focused on us showing a better face in that. I believe if we both do well in the Scottish Cup, there'll be three more so in the next 14 or 15 games, there are three more times and we need to show a better face in that game. I think that's clear for everybody and definitely the players and the staff within this building.

Michael, when you're talking about the window and the change that you want to bring, how equipped do you feel that you can make the level of change that you require?

Yep, not shying away from that. I think you’re right. We need to make a big shift in the energy we have on the pitch on matchday and that's recruiting that might be developing, that might be promoting from within as well. The team needs to show more I think and that starts with me leading it. I have to do better in my job because it's clear, although we've done well in the previous fourteen games this weekend, certainly the way we started the game, I thought we started the start of the second half very well and we should take a big chance that would change it. I've got to be honest, regardless of what would have happened, the first half of this weekend's game was enough for me to know we need to do a hell of a lot of work. And I don't want the wins against other opponents who are in different places in the league to overshadow the work that we need to do to win, not compete. [We also need] to compete better in Europe and not to have some tough days. I've been on that journey in this club before and it took a lot of time. I think it needs to be done a lot quicker now. Sometimes when we recruited and paid good money, we didn't always get the recipe that we wanted. Sometimes when we didn't pay so much money, there are a lot of good players out there and it's important we start that rebuild as soon as possible. At the moment we have started it in terms of the work we're doing behind the scenes. But we know come the summer, it's an interesting moment for the club in terms of changing the makeup of the group. I've sat in front of you before and said that I think 25 percent of the squad will turn over. I said that in one of my first meetings. I'm sticking by that, that's still the case.

Do you feel you have the resource to make that level of change?

We need to reduce the number of the squad. If you look at our squad, we've carried a large number of players because of injuries. We need to reduce the number of the squad. In terms of our budget, I think it is outlaid a little bit large in terms of numbers. So, we want to reduce the number and increase the quality. I think I know where you're going with the questioning, and I agree, we need to do some really, really good work. And listen, I'm sat here as the coach and I came back knowing that, the last 90 days I haven't had many surprises about how big the job is. I didn't think I was going to walk in and win the first 15 games and pick up the League Cup and everything would be rosy. I knew there'd be some bumps on the road. When they come, they don't feel good if I'm honest. But come this summer I've identified some players. The club's identified some players. To me, it's about going and getting that work done swiftly now.

Michael, you mentioned that the first half on Sunday told you a lot. Why is that start the way it is, is there a fear there, is this squad taking off risks in these head-to-head games?

I'd only been back in the club four weeks when we played the last [Old Firm] game, so it was very much seeing where that fixture is at. I thought the game this weekend was very similar to the game at Ibrox in many ways. I thought we didn't start the game well at Ibrox, we didn't start the game well this weekend. We did improve as the game went on in our energy and our intensity and our bravery, and we did. We weren't able to be decisive enough this weekend. I think moving forward, it's important that we focus on improving our level of the way that we play the game against better opposition. It's okay in games where you've got a lot of possession and you're dominating the ball to show your style. When you play against a team of equal level or a team that is in good form as well, you have to be defensively very good to take the ball and you have to be brave when you've got it to play. And, you have to have really strong relationships on the pitch and I felt we lost to a slicker team at the weekend. I think that probably after 90 days that's what people were assuming would happen to a certain extent, but not in this building and that's why for me it was not an eye-opener, but it was confirmation of one or two things.

Do you have any regrets? In terms of the decisions you make?

I think if we win the game or we do better in the game, then naturally you feel different. The players that played all trained last week, four days into the game, so everybody declared themselves fit to play. When I looked at it, when I've come back in, there's only been a couple of times where I've been really comfortable and really happy with the intensity of the team and the way it played. Hence that's why that team played. I think the two players who were recruited [in January] could have gone in and played in the game and had a good day or a difficult day. That's the unknown. Every time I pick a team there's always a good player you wish you put in or you didn't put in. I have to say that when we scored, it was a big moment to make the changes, I could have made them at half time but you show faith in your men. You don't throw any of your players under the bus. We're in this together. You show faith in them, you re-energise them, they go out, they start the second half well, they should score a goal to go 1-1 and that maybe would change momentum. I then made the subs bang on the moment that we scored. After that, my biggest frustration is Joe Hart didn't have a save to make.

That's nine points on the table that you feel when you look at both squads that in fact it really could be closer?

No, I don't right now, I think that they're nine points in front and they're worthy of it. I don't want to say anything against their achievements and what they're doing. It's important that we make a stronger Rangers. I think the form of late is form of a team that can go the course of a season and compete at the top. It wasn't over a two or three-week period before I came into the role and that's where we are right now, all we can do is play the next game in front of us and keep trying to win it. The weekend was an isolated game in a cup final. It's a 50-50 head-to-head and we fell short, and we were all culpable for that. And we have to show a better face in those moments. There are no excuses behind us not performing how we did at the weekend. We had to perform at the best of our levels, to have a chance of winning that game, and we didn't.

Michael, how is everyone looking fitness-wise ahead of the weekend?

Everybody's fine, so there are no new injuries if you like. John Souttar will return to the squad, Yilmaz probably needs to play a reserve game with a view to coming back in either mid-week or coming back in for the Raith Rovers Scottish Cup game. We actually had 24 players fit and training the three days into the cup final, so it's amazing, the cup final comes around and everybody's fit and available. But I mean that tongue-in-cheek. It's nice to have everybody back out fit and moving forward. Of those that played in the game, there are a couple of aches and pains, but nothing that's going to stop people from being available.

Just finally, what are you expecting from the game?

I think it's really important to show a response and to win. We have three games in a week. It's a very interesting week. Kilmarnock at home, who are fighting for their lives down there. We know Derek [McInnes] will make it really tough. He has an insight into our club so he knows how our crowd are going to react to the start of this game, and I think they'll make it difficult. We need to get three points however we get it. We'll go away to Easter Road where I think Lee's got them in good form and then we have an important cup game at home. It's important we show a strong response now in these four games, including Motherwell, away into the international break. We need to prove that the weekend was a cup final against a strong rival and we fell short, but the show goes on and we're moving forward, albeit with huge disappointment.